First of all, my opinions are my own. They are not to judge you and your opinions and they are not to say they are the ONLY or RIGHT opinions. They are the RIGHT opinions for me and my family and my child who has autism.

If I could go back 6-years ago before William was born and have him tested for autism…would my wife and I have done that?

NO WAY.

We had the opportunity to have him tested for other disabilities–that seems pretty common these days–and we elected to skip those tests as well.

I can’t imagine my life without my son. Sure it’s not the way I imagined it before he was born, sure there have been many frustrations and expectations that have had to change…but there’s not a minute that I would change (well okay, maybe a few minutes when he used to poop and spread it all over the place…can I erase those memories from my mind?)

To have someone say, “your child is going to be born with autism” would be amazingly sad and depressing. Now some people might say, “well if you are told beforehand about the condition of your child then you will have time to digest it and cope with it.”

To that I say…”that’s a bunch of BULL CORN if you ask me”

Why do people want genetic testing for unborn babies to know if they’re going to be “different”…let’s be honest here people, they want to do it so they can then decide to keep the child or not. Plain and simple.

William is a precious child of God. He is a gift to my wife and me and an integral part of our family structure. He has autism. He has language delays, he has fine motor skill delays, he seems fairly smart but I’m sure he has some cognitive delays as well. I don’t know if he’ll live on his own, hold down a job, go to a four-year college or university, go on a date, kiss a girl, have children, dance with his daughter on her wedding day…give the eulogy at my funeral. I do not know.

I know his testing, therapy, medicines, treatments, research, schooling…has cost us a lot of money. I know that I would rather have spent that on “fun stuff” like trips or goodies…or just as savings to build up our nest egg.

But I also know IT’S NOT ABOUT ME. IT’S NOT ABOUT MY SELFISH AMBITIONS, WANTS, DESIRES.

It’s about loving this precious child that we have been blessed with. It’s about honoring God and serving him to the best of our abilities. It’s about using our God-given abilities and talents and combining them with our passion to help our son and to help our community understand more and more about autism and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

I know, I know, I know…those in favor of this will say, “it helps diagnose a child on the spectrum so early…”

And yes it might…and then what? Until the age of 3 what can you really do for a child on the spectrum? I’m sure there’s something but from what I’ve seen/heard/learned/been told…age 3 is really when they can get a proper diagnosis and the child is “capable” of benefiting from scientifically-based and scientifically-proven therapies such as Applied Behavioral Analysis.

Still…it comes down to this…WHAT’S THE POINT?

Is the point of life about you and your happiness? Is the point about using your gifts, talents, strengths and abilities to make the world a better place? Is the point about putting your selfish desires and ambitions aside to serve those who can’t help themselves?

Remember…your child didn’t ask to have autism.

I can pretty much guarantee you that 100% of those on the spectrum would ask NOT to have it again if they could make that decision.

But to not be born at all?

Maybe I’m wrong here. Please tell me that I am. Maybe these genetic tests are really going to be used as a positive test and tool to come up with a “cure” for autism or to help diagnose children….but I just can’t believe that.

We have seen too many “good” things in this world be used for evil even if that’s not the intended purpose.

Where will it end? Already 90% of children that have been tested in the womb to have Downs Syndrome are aborted. What would happen if all of a sudden the autism gene is detected? When does it stop? Not the right hair color? Not going to be tall enough? Smart enough? Right handed? Left handed?

You know it’s just a matter of time before those genetic tests are released to the public…and so what happens then?

You can believe in a higher power. You can not believe in a higher power. You have your thoughts on issues…fine.

But this is your child we’re talking about. This isn’t life-or-death. This isn’t danger to the mom or baby or whatever. This is “ehhh…I’d rather not be inconvenienced with the idea of having a less than perfect child”

Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m crazy. Tell me this isn’t what it’s all about. Because if it is…I want no part of it.